Minister Krishan Bedi marks 5 years of drug-free India drive in Fatehabad

Haryana Social Justice and Empowerment Minister Krishan Kumar Bedi on Tuesday inaugurated an event in Fatehabad to mark the fifth anniversary of the Drug-Free India campaign, launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Deputy Commissioner Dr Vivek Bharti welcomed guests with floral bouquets before the programme opened with the national song Vande Mataram.

Bedi said the campaign, started five years ago, had grown into a nationwide movement. According to him, more than 23.2 crore people had been reached through 739,000 awareness activities, including 7.82 crore young people and 5.25 crore women. Over 17.11 lakh educational institutions and more than 20,000 master volunteers were involved in the effort.

Calling addiction “a disease, not just a habit,” Bedi urged people to help addicts seek treatment instead of shunning them. He said 109 de-addiction centres were operating in Haryana. The campaign began in 10 major districts Rohtak, Sirsa, Sonepat, Hisar, Ambala, Fatehabad, Karnal, Kurukshetra, Panipat and Nuh and later expanded to Jhajjar, Faridabad, Gurugram and Panchkula.

To engage young people, the authorities continue to organise activities such as essay contests, rangoli, street events and runs. Bedi called on the youth to unite against drug abuse.